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345 SE 5th, Madras, OR 97741 | 541.475.2275
A proposed city charter amendment would prevent development at Friendship Park.
A group of Madras residents wants to change the city's charter to stop development of a new city hall/police station at the site of Friendship Park.
"We're interested in preserving that park space for the community," said Steve Fisher, whose group -- Friends of the Park -- has completed a prospective initiative petition to force a city vote on the issue.
"We tried to take our case to the City Council and have them allow the voters to decide, but they declined," he said.
According to Karen Coleman, city recorder, the city attorney has prepared the ballot title for the initiative, which asks, "Shall City Charter be Amended to Establish Friendship Park as a Permanent City Park?"
The public has until Feb. 9 to file an objection to the ballot title, after which, petitioners can get their cover and signature sheets approved to begin circulating the petition, she noted. "They're required to have 213 signatures."
Fisher, who has joined forces with Lorene Forman and Eugenia Alire as chief petitioners for the initiative, believes there is widespread support for the measure.
Petitioners cited the proposed location's long history as the site of community events, as well as recreational soccer.
"This is the only green park on the west side of Madras," he said. "The west side not only has a higher concentration of low-income families, but also has not had green space developed by the city."
Mayor Melanie Widmer, who was instrumental in the development of the Madras Bike and Skate Park on the west side of town, disagrees with the petitioners' assessment.
"The plan for the new police station/city hall calls for the retention of a significant amount of green space," she said. "The existing Friendship Park will be transformed into a beautiful public plaza, incorporating the existing trees and showcasing the Veterans Memorials."
The city began planning for the new facility in 2004, after a series of public meetings, during which school officials suggested that the north end of the Westside Elementary property might be available for sale or trade.
Because the current Madras City Hall lies in a floodway, the city cannot build a new building or enlarge the old city hall at that location.
In 2006, the city traded School District 509-J 20 acres just south of Juniper Hills Park for the 4.75-acre site. At the time, independent appraisals placed the value of the city's property at $2.2 million, and the Westside Elementary School property at $2.27 million.
In September, more than a month after the city authorized the issuance of bonds for the $5.8 million project, Fisher and other citizens began attending the City Council meetings to register their disapproval of the proposed location for the new city hall/police station.
The city has applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development division for grants and loans to fund the project, which has also drawn criticism from the group.
Concerned about costs
"Many Madras taxpayers are concerned about shouldering the expense of constructing costly new buildings during the current recession," wrote Fisher in a press release.
"Residents are currently paying into a special development fund accumulated through annual hikes in water and sewer rates," he continued. "The council intends to tap this fund to help pay for the new City Hall complex. After construction is under way, further funding resources will be needed to complete the project, adding an extra tax burden to city residents."
Widmer countered that there would be no additional cost to city residents for the facility. "Property taxes can only increase through a vote of the people, and the council has no intention of asking our community to bear a greater financial burden."
"Our current City Hall and police station, in addition to being too small and prone to flooding, is quite energy-inefficient," she added. "With advances in green technology, we can create a new facility that is much more energy-efficient, saving resources both financial and environmental."
Widmer pointed out that the city has continued to add to its park and open space on the west side of town with the Madras Bike and Skate Park, the expansion of the Willow Creek trail system, and support for the fish pond at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
"The city of Madras is striving to improve the quality of life for all its residents," she said, adding that the city will soon begin surveying westside residents to determine what kind of park improvements they would like to see in their neighborhoods.
The City Council, which meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, has not yet had an opportunity to discuss how the petition might affect its plans.
Temporary delays likely
"However, it does appear that the provision that states 'that should the City Council develop Friendship Park prior to charter amendment, the city would remove any improvements that were not consistent with recreational uses' is likely to cause at least temporary delays, which is a shame," Widmer said. "We had hoped to take advantage of current lower construction costs and low interest rates."
Besides preventing the city from building on the property, the amendment would also prevent the city from selling or leasing the property.
"If nothing else, I feel like we did create a public forum on the issue," said Fisher. "I feel we've gotten a pretty strong outpouring of sentiment on this side; perhaps these people were ill-informed before, or it was bad communication on the part of the city."
If the Friends of the Park obtain the required signatures from registered voters in the city of Madras by Feb. 17, the issue could be on the May ballot, Coleman said. Otherwise, if signatures are filed by June 23, "The next available election date would be Sept. 21, 2010."
Fisher expects the amendment to go before city voters at least by the November election. "I support whatever the people come out and say," he said. "I'm personally trying to preserve that space, but I'm in support of whatever the voters' wishes are."
